John versus Jack
by JazziePerson
Summary: What would happen if, one day, John couldn't control himself around Helen? Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Yes, another new story. This is the first part of four and it came from an idea about John's control over the creature. So far, he's managed to control it around Magnus but what if one time he couldn't? Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. The next part will probably be up tomorrow although it is all written. For reference, this is set some time after _Haunted_ and so there are spoilers for that episode.

John versus Jack

Chapter 1 –

It was seven am. Helen was sitting behind her desk, distracted by a report the Will had handed in fifteen minutes ago. Her eyes flicked rapidly across the page, taking in all the information in double time. John stood at the other end of the room, silently observing her. He'd arrived the night before and Helen had allowed him to stay in one of the guest rooms, to rest before taking off the next day.

Now, he was alternating between watching Helen and lazily exploring her office. The bookcase by the window had caught his attention. About halfway up, at roughly shoulder height, was a framed photograph. It was of Ashley. She looked about seventeen or eighteen at the time and her hair was longer than it had been when John had known her. It was tied up in a pony tail and she was resting casually against her motorbike. She had a massive grin on her face and John was guessing that it was the day she'd first acquired the bike. Presumably it had been Helen behind the camera. John reached out and touched Ashley's face with a fingertip. The anger began to burn in his stomach again. This was Ashley, his Ashley, his daughter and the Cabal and stolen her and her life. They'd turned her against her family and because of that, Helen was no longer the same person. Yes, she was as dedicated to her work as she had ever been, she smiled frequently and she had started to eat properly again. But she wasn't the same. Physically, she looked gaunt; her face was thinner and although her fingers and wrists had always been slim, now they looked like they were about to snap. But psychologically, she was damaged. She had a new stillness about her. She didn't feel quite so full of life, and love as she used to. Ashley had taken part of her when she'd died.

John's fists clenched. He may have killed off the majority of the Cabal but it had done nothing to ease the pain and anger that still swirled within. Jack, the monster, raised his ugly head. He may have been appeased by the vicious murders of the Cabal agents but the bloodlust was never far from the peripheries of his mind. And now it had resurfaced. It wanted blood and Helen was the only one there.

John, the man he really was, dug his nails into his palms. He did not want to hurt Helen. He really did not want to hurt Helen. He'd rather die. But when Jack took over, it was too late. John picked up the framed photograph of Ashley and looked at her face again. His daughter, the DNA of himself and Helen combined. After all the pain, he'd put Helen through, he couldn't bear to hurt her anymore. But Jack wasn't listening.

Helen looked up from the report when she heard the cracking of glass. John had his back to her but in his hand, she could see a framed photograph. Glass was dropping from his grip. He'd been holding onto it so hard, the glass had broken. She stood up slowly.

"John?" There was a note of caution in her voice. John was dangerous when he was in his right mind but when Jack took over, he could be lethal. "John?"

John turned slowly, letting the frame slip from his hand. Helen could see blood beginning to drip onto the floor. Returning her eyes to his face, she saw that same look on his face when he'd knocked her to the ground and kicked her in the ribs a few months ago. Pure hatred and unadulterated longing. And Helen was pretty sure that longing was not a good thing. She glanced down at her desk and cursed internally when she remembered that she'd given her gun to Henry to give it a once over. Her eyes shifted to her walkie. Even if she could get in contact with Will or somebody, John would be on top of her before she could say a word. She looked back up at him.

He was inching closer and the nasty analogy of a predator hunting its prey sprang to mind. In his normal capacity, Helen was not afraid of John. She knew him well and was confident that she could predict and therefore counteract his actions. But as Jack, all she knew was that he was a vicious killer.

She took a careful step back. "John, listen to me..." she began but before she could articulate her thoughts, John was right in her face, his eyes inches from hers. His hand was around her throat, almost lifting her off the ground with his strong grip. She wrapped her hands around his wrist, trying in vain to pull him off of her. She heard rather than saw him flick open his knife. She didn't remove her gaze from his but she felt him pull back his arm, ready to strike.

Helen had no words to stop him but she knew her eyes were giving her away. She was terrified, God, she was terrified but a calm had settled over her. She couldn't explain it. However, in John's eyes, she could see the raging battle. Jack and John were fighting for control. She could see John's revulsion at his actions and the fear that he might actually kill her and Jack's exhilaration at finally getting the object of his obsession.

As a last act of desperation, Helen kicked out and fortunately caught John in the knee. He cried out and dropped her like a burning coal. She hit the ground with a clatter but scrambled away from him towards the door. John recovered quickly and grabbed her ankle and dragged her back, yanking her onto her back. Leaning his hands on her shoulders, he pinned her down. He was panting with the exertion and the sneer on his lips was far from comforting. He raised his fist and struck her across the face with such force that the back of her head hit the floor with a crack.

"John..." Helen gasped as she tried again to wriggle away. "John, please..."

Her words seem to have no effect on him. He leaned closer until their lips were almost touching. And that was when Helen felt a blinding pain between her ribs. A sound somewhere between a gasp and a moan escaped her lips. Between the roar of her blood in her ears and the thud of her heart, she thought she heard John laughing. Then there was another sharp pain, below the first, closer to her stomach. This time she did cry out and once she started, she couldn't stop. A guttural, rasping scream pierced the air and one part of her brain prayed that someone would hear her. The rest of her brain, the majority, just didn't care, just wanted the pain to be over. John plastered his hand over her mouth to stifle the noise but in her desperation, Helen closed her teeth around his fingers and bit down as hard as she could. John growled and wrenched his hand back before pounding it into the side of her face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **So second chapter here we come. Thank you to all the nice things people said about this. I really enjoyed writing it even the violence was kind of hard to stomach. It's hard to look at it objectively if you know what I mean. Anyway, please review again! Thank you.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

John versus Jack

Chapter 2 –

Will heard the scream. He streaked out of his office like his hair was on fire and pelted down the corridor towards Magnus' office. He'd never heard her scream before but he'd know her voice anywhere. The door was closed but Will pushed it open without pausing to knock. What he saw, however, stopped him in his tracks.

Magnus was flat on her back on the floor with Druitt crouched over her. Will had arrived just in time to see him strike her across the face. Her head rolled to the side; she'd lost consciousness. Blood was pooling around her and Druitt was in the process of pulling a knife out of her stomach. Before he was aware of what he was doing, Will had sprinted across the room and thrown himself at Druitt, forcing him away from Magnus' still body. He felt something tear at his shirt and he felt a slight sting at his arm. He punched Druitt in the side of the head, funnelling all his anger and fear for Magnus into it. Druitt's body jerked before slumping back onto the floor.

Will was frozen for a second, staring at Druitt's body, covered in Magnus' blood. He glanced at Magnus but before he rushed to her side, he swiped her radio off the desk.

"Henry? Kate? Big Guy?" Even he could hear the fear in his voice. "Guys? Somebody?"

When there was no immediate reply, he dropped it on the ground and crawled over to Magnus. He touched her cheek. It felt like ice. "Magnus?" he tapped his fingers against her cheek. "Magnus, I need you to wake up." There was a dark bruise already forming across her left cheekbone, indicating how hard Druitt had hit her. The fury bubbled up again but Will forced it down as he turned his attention to the two stab wounds. They were close enough that he could keep reasonable pressure on both at the same time. He pressed down, his hands getting covered in blood.

"Will, what the hell is going on?" It was Henry's voice, coming from the discarded radio.

Will yanked off his shirt and balled it up, pressing it against the wounds as he reached for the radio. "Henry! Druitt went after Magnus. We need to get Druitt into high security and Magnus to the OR right now."

"What?" Henry sounded stunned for a moment. "Yeah, right. I'll grab Biggie and Kate and we'll be there ASAP."

Will could hear the unspoken question. Henry wanted to know whether Magnus was going to be alright. But he didn't know. "Henry, she'd out cold with two deep stab wounds. We need to be fast."

"Got it." There was a crackle on the radio as Henry raced off.

Will turned his full attention back to Magnus. Her face was pale and she hadn't moved a muscle. Her chest rose and fell shallowly and her breathing was slow and ragged. Will pressed harder on the wounds, his desperation and impatience showing. His shirt was quickly turning from white to red and the sight of it made Will's stomach turn over.

"Come on Magnus. Wake up. Please, Magnus. I need you to wake up." Will begged. He watched her face intently but there was no change. No movement. No life.

The tears were burning in his eyes when he heard the clatter of a gurney being pushed down the corridor. Henry burst through the door at breakneck speed and slid to a halt. He visibly paled at the sight of Magnus' blood all over the floor. Kate and the Big Guy appeared behind him. Will blinked forcefully and took charge, not moving from his position.

"Henry and Kate, get Druitt into a cell. Highest security. I knocked him out so I have no idea when he'll wake up..." Before he could anymore, Kate manoeuvred her way around the Big Guy and Henry and raised her gun. The light that indicated that they were tranquilizers was on and, for a moment, Will wished it wasn't. Kate fired, remorseless as Druitt's body twitched. That motion made Will's lips twitch in some semblance of a smile. Her readiness to shoot the man showed just how loyal she'd become to Magnus. But as nice as it was, they didn't have time to dwell on it.

"Big Guy, we need to get Magnus to the OR. I don't know if the knife hit any organs but there's a hell of a lot of blood."

The Big Guy nodded and reached down to scoop Magnus up off the floor. Her head flopped back and her arms dropped to dangle by her sides. As soon as he'd laid Magnus on the gurney, Will was kneeling over her, keeping pressure on the wounds. The Big Guy didn't pause to let Will steady himself but instantly began pushing the gurney out of the room, heading for the elevator, leaving Henry and Kate to haul Druitt down to the cells.

When they got inside the elevator, Will pressed his fingers against Magnus' throat and counted the beats. After fifteen seconds, he looked up at the Big Guy. "It's slow but it's stronger than I thought it would be."

The Bug Guy grunted. "She's strong."

Will nodded and readjusted his hands over his shirt on the wound. The panic was still swirling in his stomach but now they were moving, now they were doing something he felt slightly better, like they weren't just waiting for her to bleed to death.

"Will you be able to fix this?" Will asked, his eyes holding all the fear he didn't have time to deal with.

The Big Guy just nodded, his eyes on Magnus again. She was losing colour by the second and right now, every second counted. They had to make sure that knife had not caught any of her organs and then they had to stop the bleeding, before she died. A shiver ran down the Big Guy's spine. He really hoped this went well.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Third chapter then. I'd forgotten I'd posted the second one! To be fair, in the last 72 hours I've had about 10 hours sleep. I've put it down to exam stress and nothing the odd half sleeping pill won't sort out. Anyway, despite my zombie-fied state, I'm giving this to you. Please review, it would make my sleep-deprived brain very happy. Thank you! I'm going to settle down to the Sanctuary Season 3.5 UK Premiere tonight and then sleep till noon tomorrow :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

John versus Jack

Chapter 3 –

Will was sat at Magnus' bedside. He hadn't moved for almost an hour. That was how long it had been since The Big Guy had taken Magnus into the OR and after declaring that the knife had punctured no organs, had stitched the wounds. He suspected from the bruising on her head that she had a concussion but would not be able to officially diagnose it until she woke up. So here she was, stitched, bandaged and sedated. Well, not so much sedated anymore. The Big Guy had sedated her while he'd tended to the wounds to make sure she didn't wake up but had reassured Will that she should wake up soon.

When the Big Guy had wheeled Magnus out of the OR, he'd found Will leaning against the wall, still wearing his blood stained t-shirt. His hair was a mess and his eyes were bloodshot but the Big Guy didn't comment. He pushed the headboard up against the wall and paused for a moment, just looking at her pale face. She'd lost a lot of blood but it looked like she was now out of the woods. It looked like everything would be okay. He leaned over to brush some hair away from her face and then left, offering his reassurances to Will.

And now Will was sat by the bed, watching the rise and fall of her chest. It had only been a couple of hours since he'd seen Magnus. Seen her alright, that is. She'd been sitting at her desk and he'd dashed in to drop her a report before starting the morning feedings. John had been around the Sanctuary but he hadn't been in her office when Will had dropped his paperwork in. He was having trouble comprehending how this had happened in such a short period of time. Magnus had been fine, been her usual self and now she was lying in a hospital bed with a concussion and two stab wounds. She'd nearly died from blood loss for God's sake.

Will scrubbed his hands down his face. He felt he should go and change out of this shirt. In fact he felt he needed to burn the damn thing and then take an hour long shower. He felt that even that wouldn't get rid of the ill feeling in his stomach. But he couldn't. He wouldn't leave Magnus. He wouldn't leave her on her own. Not now. Not now while she was vulnerable.

"Will?"

Will looked up to see Henry standing in the doorway. "Hey, Henry."

"How's she doing?" Henry rounded the bed to sit down on the other side, across from Will. "Is she gonna be okay?"

Will nodded, resting his elbows on the edge of the mattress, his chin in his hands. "The Big Guy stitched her up and he thinks she has a concussion."

"What the hell happened?" Henry asked. "Druitt was all sunshine and daisies yesterday. And today, he's what, trying to kill Magnus?"

"That's about the size of it." Will nodded. "Did you and Kate sort him out?"

"Yeah. He's handcuffed in a cell and Kate's keeping an eye on him."

Will nodded.

"She's gonna wake up, right?" Henry asked, his voice small.

"Yeah, the Big Guy says soon." Will kneaded the heel of his hands into his eye sockets. It was barely midday and he was already exhausted.

He had let his eyes drift shut for a second when he heard a murmur from the bed. His lids snapped open and he stood up, leaning over the bed. "Magnus?"

Henry was on his feet to, leaning on the mattress as he watched Magnus carefully. "Doc?"

Magnus' face had contorted, her jaw clenched and her eyes screwed up in pain. Her breath came out as a hiss between her teeth. She didn't open her eyes. "What happened?" Despite having been unconscious for several hours, she sounded exhausted.

"You're in the infirmary," Will began. He didn't know what to tell her. He didn't know what to say. "What do you remember?"

Magnus relaxed slightly. Henry reached out tentatively and held her hand.

"Working... in my office..." she took a deep breath and winced. "Will, you came in... with your report..." she swallowed.

"Anything after that?" Will wasn't sure if he wanted her to remember or not. He exchanged a worried glance with Henry.

"John... was there... John was there?" This time it came out as a question. Then everything seemed to sink in. Her eyes flew open and they flicked around the room. "Where is he?"

"Max security." Henry informed her, glancing between her and Will.

Magnus blinked and began pushing herself up. "I need to see him."

Will and Henry exchanged wary looks. Will stepped up, putting a hand out to stop her. "Magnus, you got stabbed!"

"I'm well aware of that Will." Magnus glared at him. "Help me up, please."

Will really didn't want to but he knew that if he didn't help her, she'd just struggle to do it herself and probably injure herself further. So he leant forward, took a gentle hold on her arms and pulled her upright. The Big Guy had removed her bloodied clothes while she was unconscious and dressed her in a hospital gown so neither Will nor Henry could see the extent of the damage but as Will got her on her feet, Magnus winced and exhaled slowly through her gritted teeth. Henry, on the other side of the bed winced in sympathy.

"Magnus, seriously, you can't go down there. The guy tried to kill you. You really need to lie down." Will insisted.

Magnus shook her head. "One trip in the elevator won't kill me. I'll be fine."

"Fine," Will conceded. "But I'm taking you down in the wheelchair."

"Will, really..." Magnus tried to discourage him but he interrupted her.

"It's that or I'm getting Biggie to handcuff you to the bed." Will smiled a little

Magnus just scowled. "Fine."

Henry pushed the wheelchair up, glancing at Magnus slightly apprehensively. Magnus looked up at him and her expression softened slightly. "Thank you, Henry." While she felt the wheelchair was unnecessarily, she was polite almost to a fault and Henry had gotten it for her. And she could see the fear and concern in his eyes.

"No problem, Doc." Henry attempted a small smile.

Will held Magnus' shoulders firmly as he manoeuvred her into the wheelchair. Her breathing was laboured and her muscles were tensed but she was doing her best to brush it off, brush off Will's help. Henry watched, ready to assist should he be needed but knowing that Magnus hated to be hovered over. He figured Will was doing enough for both of them at the moment.

When Magnus was seated in the wheelchair, Will turned to Henry. "Henry, would you let Kate know we're on our way down? We'll be a little slower." He said, indicating the wheel chair.

Henry looked down at Magnus, reluctant to leave.

She pulled out a little smile. "I'm okay, Henry."

Henry couldn't help but smile. He nodded and dashed from the room.

Careful not to jostle her, Will manoeuvred the wheelchair towards the door. They left the room and stopped at the elevator. Magnus was quiet, clearly contemplating what had happened and what was about to happen so Will didn't try and make conversation. But it didn't stop him from worrying. He really didn't know what he was doing; he was allowing Magnus to see the man that had just attempted to kill her. He sighed as the elevator arrived and pushed Magnus inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note**: I get the feeling that this chapter will inspire mixed feelings. I don't know; it was how it came to me. Magnus and Druitt alike are very complicated people, put it down to their extended lives or whatever and so I think their reactions to, well, anything are going to be complex. So, I hope you like the final chapter of this. I've got another series in the works and with the end of my exams in sight, I will have much more time to write. I'm so looking forward to it! Please review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

John versus Jack

Chapter 4 –

Magnus became very still as they neared the cell that contained Druitt. From an outsider's point of view, she looked calm, her hands folded in her lap and her shoulders relaxed. But Will knew better. Her jaw was clenched, whether from the pain or the stress he didn't know and the silent, still behaviour always gave her away. He badly wanted to turn the wheelchair around and put her back to bed in the infirmary. For God's sake, she hadn't even been checked for a concussion yet. But, the realisation Will had come to in the elevator was that Magnus needed to see Druitt. She needed to make the situation real. Any other reasons she might have, he had no idea.

He stopped a few feet from the window into Druitt's cell. From where he was, he could see Druitt sitting in the corner, his head leant back against the wall. He had his eyes closed. His hands were still covered in Magnus' blood. Will tensed, anger and guilt battling for precedence. He should've been there to stop him sooner.

"Will," Magnus' voice was soft but inside the cell, Druitt's eyes flew open. "Go and have a shower and get changed."

"I'm not leaving you alone with him." Will told her.

"There's an inch of glass between us." Magnus pointed out. "I'll be fine."

Will hesitated. He really didn't want to go.

"Please, Will."

Will watched as her eyes flicked over his shirt. It was stained with blood, her blood. Obviously not the most comforting thing to see. Another reminder of her brush with death. He sighed. "I'll be back as soon as I'm done."

Magnus nodded her thanks before turning back to John. He was now standing, still in the far corner as though he was scared he'd hurt her again if he got too close to her despite the glass between them. His face was gaunt, the guilt prominent in his features. In spite of himself, he took a step forward. "Helen, I... I'm so sorry. I'm so very sorry." His voice was hoarse, his hands moving to articulate his feelings.

Magnus watched him silently for a moment. Then she began to push herself up as carefully as possible. She could hear John protesting but she ignored him. It took a long time but finally, she was on her feet, only slightly unsteady. She took a wary step forward and rested her on the glass. "I know," she whispered.

What she felt for John was a confused, conflicted mess of emotion. He had been her first love, her true love and for that, she would always love him. But the things he had done... they were reprehensible. In his extended lifetime, he'd killed hundreds of people. There were victims she knew of and she was sure there were many she didn't know about. But since their discovery of the creature inhabiting John, it had become far more difficult to hate him for all of that. He'd been battling this thing for control for over a century and sometimes he won. But sometimes he didn't. Today was a good example. She'd seen the conflict in his eyes as John slowly lost to Jack and it had broken her heart. He had been a good person, a strong, noble man and this thing had turned him into a monster. And now there was a faint flicker of fear inside her as well. He had stabbed her, he had tried to kill her and if not for Will, she'd probably be dead. But she still found herself unable to hate him. Her heart ached.

"Helen," John took another step towards the glass. "I will never forgive myself for what I did to you. I will spend the rest of my life attempting to make it up to you."

Helen shook her head. "It wasn't you. It was that creature; it was Jack."

"But I allowed him to take control..." John protested.

"I will find a way to rid you of it. I will, I promise."

John's smile was so sad. He was now right in front of her and lifted his hand to press it against the glass. Had it not been for the glass, their hands would've been touching. Helen looked at their hands, the sadness and the grief welling up. Sometimes, how much she wished for the old days, back at Oxford, felt overwhelming. She missed_ her_ John. She rested her head against the glass, the tiredness and the pain seeping through her again. She wouldn't give up. She would find a way to free John. She had to.

In her peripheral vision, she saw John lean forward too. Like their hands, if the glass was not there, they would be leaning against one another. The irony was not lost on her. There was always something keeping them apart, whether it physical like the glass, or metaphorical. She found herself hoping that one day, maybe that barrier would break down.

Will emerged from the elevator, clean and in fresh clothes. His shirt had gone straight in the bin and his jeans had followed after he'd found blood smeared on them too. He felt a little better but his need to make sure Magnus was okay had prevented him from enjoying the shower as much as he normally would have. He rounded the corner to cell and stopped abruptly.

Magnus was standing, her hand and head leaning against the glass. Druitt's posture was identical on the other side. Both had their eyes closed. It was quiet but the atmosphere was calm, safe, cathartic.

Will took a step back, out of sight. He felt like he was prying, interrupting a fragile, perfect moment. He didn't understand. Something major must've happened while he'd been gone but he wouldn't interrupt. Seeing them like that was strange and sad but gave him a warm feeling at the same time.

So he stayed where he was, waiting for when Magnus needed him.


End file.
